Sainsbury’s Bank’s former chief executive has said that live events are still a powerful tool for brands, reports C&IT Magazine.

Speaking as part of C&IT Magazine’s Brand Book Live Event, Hamish Taylor said he believes that corporate events are vitally important. “There is no doubt there are huge advantages,” he said. “They are face to face, you have a greater chance to have discussion with people you need to influence, and people can ask questions.”

Speaking in front of representatives from AstraZeneca, Axa PPP Healthcare, Porsche, Friends Provident and Roche, Mr Taylor said their live events industry’s approach to recruiting needs to change. He claimed: “As marketing people we have to stop recruiting marketing people and start recruiting business leaders. You need to have people in the marketing department that can influence the rest of the business.”

Mr Taylor, who worked in brand management at Eurostar, Sainsbury’s Bank and British Airways, said that there is one condition that makes events powerful, which is just as important as the quality of event spaces or location of the event. “They have to come from a customer benefit model,” he explained. “Live events are not an end in their own right; they are about getting the customer benefit message across, and that way they are worthwhile.”

It was part of a wider discussion about event marketing in the financial, automotive, consumer goods, pharmaceutical and retail sectors.